Cape Cod Water Pollution

“Nitrogen pollution is killing the Cape’s beautiful waterways,” said Christopher Kilian, Vice President of Strategic Litigation at CLF. “Fish kills, unpleasant odors and scum are becoming the norm, threatening to drive away the millions of tourists that flock to the area every year. These resorts should be leaders in protecting our precious waters, instead of flushing our health and our economy down the drain.”

Imagine the kind of summer day we New Englanders wait for all year – a light breeze, an azure sky, temps in the low 80s, and, best of all, low humidity. Coolers are stuffed with snacks and sandwiches, beach chairs stacked in trunks, and kids corralled into waiting cars for the traffic-jammed ride to their…

Nutrient pollution impacts waterways across New England, from Lake Champlain to Narragansett Bay. These waters all carry excess levels of nitrogen or phosphorous – a problem caused by fertilizer running off of farms and lawns and animal waste from confined animal feeding operations. Another major cause is human sewage improperly treated by septic systems or overflowed…

The Cape is facing a massive pollution problem because of nitrogen pollution from from septic and wastewater treatment systems. In an effort to curb this toxic pollution, CLF has announced our intention to sue the Wychmere Beach Club and Wequassett Resort and Golf Club for violating the Clean Water Act.

“Nitrogen pollution has disastrous effects on the plant and animal life that live in these beautiful waterways,” said Chris Kilian, Vice President of Strategic Litigation at CLF. “This type of pollution is also harmful to the people who flock to Pleasant Bay and Wychmere Harbor for water sports and other recreational activities. It’s time we hold large polluters responsible for their destructive impacts on our environment.”

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has his sights set on unraveling the Clean Water Act, one of our best tools for protecting our lakes, rivers, and oceans. CLF is working to make sure that the law, which is critical to our work, continues to protect our waters.

No one would consider swimming, sailing, or fishing in a sewer, but that, in effect, is the choice facing people seeking to use polluted bays around Cape Cod. The Cape’s septic systems cause 85 percent of the nitrogen pollution plaguing our waterways. Every time a toilet flushes into a septic tank, our clean bays, our…

Once again, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and the Trump administration are taking aim at one of our most vital and effective environmental laws. On February 20, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a public notice asking for comments on the Clean Water Act’s coverage of pollution that enters our nation’s lakes, rivers, and oceans via groundwater.

We are faced with a federal administration that wants not only to halt decades of hard-fought progress on clean water but reverse them altogether. But today, the impacts on our public health from blue-green algae outbreaks and chemical pollution are as serious and urgent as ever. We cannot and will not stop fighting for clean water as a fundamental right for all Americans.